World's Top Hotels

Check out this year’s ultimate collection of top hotels around the world, as selected by T+L readers.

Check out this year’s ultimate collection of top hotels around the world, as selected by T+L readers.

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Travel + Leisure Staff

December 21, 2011

Miles of hiking trails in Big Sky Country? Check. Outdoor spa treatments? Check! Montana may be the Wild West, but it stakes a claim to one of the world’s finest hotels. At Triple Creek Ranch, rated No. 6, the log cabins are rustic-chic, the cellar stores 2,000 wine bottles, and soaking in a hot tub is the perfect antidote to a day out snowshoeing.

Every year T+L readers vote on thousands of hotels based on rooms, location, service, food, and value. In 2012, the 10th anniversary of the T+L 500, the winners are a mix of remote escapes and city hotels—and a record 133 have rates that start as low as $250 a night. The highest-ranking hotel for value is Four Seasons Carmelo, Uruguay, whose suites and bungalows are strung along the beach between a eucalyptus forest and the Rio de la Plata. It’s an easy trip from Buenos Aires, a city with four T+L 500 winners.

The number of high-scoring hotels in Africa also increased this year, with nine hotels in the top 25 and 45 properties overall. Singita Grumeti Reserves, on a spectacular wide plateau in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, ranked No. 1, thanks partially to the recent launch of a mobile safari experience in the 340,000-acre concession.

California, a perennial favorite, has the largest percentage of T+L 500 hotels in the U.S., with 37 winners. But one romantic escape in Florida ranked higher than the Sunshine State’s best properties: Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, a secluded private island retreat on Little Torch Key. It wins over guests with special touches like the Sandbar Session concerts and private picnics on nearby deserted islands.

What else is new this year? We’re sharing insider tips and advice on which specific hotel rooms to book. At No. 5–ranked Oberoi Udaivilas, in India, for instance, nine lakeside rooms face the nature conservancy, treating in-the-know guests to views of peacocks, deer, and wild boar.

Read on to see all the hotels that made it into this year’s top 25. —Sarah Spagnolo

1 of 50Courtesy of Singita

Singita Grumeti Reserves,Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Africa’s most luxurious mobile-safari experience is the latest addition to this 340,000-acre Serengeti concession with 4 separate camps. Doubles from $1,700–$2,300, all-inclusive.

Behind the Scenes: What does a perfect location score look like? A manor house on a wide plateau; a tented camp with views of the Serengeti; 8 suites and 1 villa overlooking the rhino-filled Grumeti River; and a mobile safari that traverses it all.

Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, India

A 30-acre Mewari-style palace on the banks of Lake Pichola, complete with private motorboats, a traditional Kashmiri gondola, and sprawling courtyards rimmed by reflecting pools. Doubles from $700–$870.

Room to Book: All 19 Premiere Lake rooms have private pools and terraces, but the 9 that face the nature conservatory offer wildlife spotting (peacocks; deer; wild boar) as well as views of the marble palaces of mainland Udaipur.

Triple Creek Ranch, Darby, MT

Adults-only mountain retreat on thousands of acres, with plush log cabins (wood-burning fireplaces; hot tubs), a 2,000-plus-bottle wine cellar, a chef’s table, and a rotating collection of original art. Doubles from $750–$950, including meals.

T+L Tip: Don’t miss a snowshoe excursion across the Chief Joseph Pass—first explored by Lewis and Clark in 1805—or the chocolate chip cookies served by cowboy-booted staffers on your return.

Lodge at KauriCliffs, Matauri Bay,New Zealand

North Island cliffside lodge, golf course, and top spa on 6,000 acres with waterfalls and private beaches. Doubles from $1,140–$1,485, including breakfast and dinner.

T+L Tip: Ask the Kauri Cliffs team to pack a picnic (soba noodles; smoked-salmon sandwiches) before heading to Pink Beach, one of Kauri Cliffs’ private coves; in summer, barbecue dinners are served on the sand.

Hotel Caruso, Ravello, Italy

Behind the Scenes: An excellent score for location is a given, as the property is perched 1,000 feet above the Mediterranean; to tour the nearby harbors, hop aboard the hotel’s 52-foot boat Ercole (trips from $615).

Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, Little Torch Key,FL

Florida’s most secluded and romantic retreat: a West Indies–style idyll set along a white-sand beach on a 6-acre island accessible only by boat or seaplane, which will also take you to a smaller island for a picnic. Suites from $790–$1,590.

T+L Tip: Arrive when the resort is hosting one of its Sandbar Session concerts, which bring well-known musicians to the hotel’s beach. Previous headliners? Stephen Marley and the Indigo Girls.

Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN

The ne plus ultra of rural luxury, with renowned cuisine, set on a farm in the Great Smoky Mountains. Doubles from $795–$1,095, including meals.

Behind the Scenes: On-site experts—master gardener John Coykendall; visiting chefs Thomas Keller and David Chang—translated to high scores for service; guests leave armed with tips for creating Southern dishes at home.

Stein Eriksen Lodge, Park City, UT

T+L Tip: Make a dinner reservation at least 3 days in advance for Muscovy duck breast and s’mores for dessert at the hotel’s Glitretind restaurant. Be sure to try the lodge’s exclusive Chardonnay cuvee wine, launched in 2011.

Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai,Thailand

A miniature Thai kingdom with 123 Lanna-inspired suites and villas on 60 acres that’s the setting for a Buddhist prayer site, a 33,000-square-foot spa, and an arts-and-crafts village. Doubles from $509–$729.

Behind the Scenes: More than 500 solicitous staffers create this exotic wonderland, which received a perfect score for service; opt for tutorials in classic dance and northern Thai cuisine.

Peninsula Chicago

Sleek, 20-story state-of-the-art hotel with 3 restaurants, including Shanghai Terrace and the Lobby—and a 15,000-square-foot Espa in the heart of the Magnificent Mile shopping district. Doubles from $395–$525.

Room to Book: The Grand Deluxe suites have the best views in the hotel—they all overlook Water Tower Park—and were just updated with Art Deco–inspired accents (lacquer tables; brocade-covered chairs).

Singita Sabi Sand, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Room to Book: Ebony Lodge's Suite 1 has a fireplace, outdoor shower, and the best views of elephants bathing in the Sand River. For more wildlife spotting, there are twice-daily game drives and mountain-bike rides through the bush.

Stephanie Inn Hotel,Cannon Beach, OR

Shingled hotel overlooking the famous Haystack Rock; the 41 rooms are equipped with fireplaces, private balconies, Tempur-Pedic beds, and Jacuzzis in the overhauled bathrooms. Doubles from $359, including breakfast.

Mombo Camp andLittle Mombo Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana

Two groups of tents with plunge pools and unshaded decks for prime bird-watching and rhino-spotting, all linked by raised walkways on an Okavango Delta floodplain. Doubles from $3,286–$4,398, all-inclusive.

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, HI

String of 2-story bungalows built upon ancient lava rock. Its updated Hualalai Spa now has 10 outdoor treatment rooms. Doubles from $635–$1,295.

Behind the Scenes: Though it has taken top honors in Hawaii for 2 years running, a jump in the hotel’s value score—thanks to new deals such as 50 percent off your second room—is one reason that it nabbed the top spot in 2012.

Ritz-Carlton, Beijing Financial Street

Stunning spaces in a glass-and-chrome skyscraper follow feng shui principles (glass animal sculptures near doorways; elaborate fountains surrounding the hotel). A location in the Financial District is convenient for business travelers. Doubles from $295–$515.

Behind the Scenes: Thanks to its unique design, readers gave this property one of the top 5 scores for interiors in Asia—and the highest in China. The jawdropping lobby has paintings by famous local artists (Bo Yun; Shan Fan) and is festooned with 60,000 resin bamboo leaves to represent prosperity.

Turnberry Resort, a LuxuryCollection Hotel, Turnberry, Scotland

Room to Book: One of the 4 suites named after the legendary golf course’s Open Championship winners: Watson, Norman, Price, and Cink. Each has unique design touches, and all face the craggy Alisa Craig island.